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Meningitis Outbreak
It's a sign of how widespread the Meningitis outbreak really is.
The Vice President of Tennessee's Board of Pharmacy had to recuse himself from any votes that relate to the New England Compounding Center because his brother-in-law is a patient.
Health officials have said that pharmacy caused the outbreak with tainted medication that killed 13 people who received injections in Tennessee and sent dozens of others to the hospital.
"I would probably have a biased opinion," said Buddy Stephens. "He's making a little progress. It's kind of been a rough month."
The Board of Pharmacy met Thursday to discuss several actions it's now taking in response to the Meningitis Outbreak.
One of those options involves creating a task force to look at the regulations that govern Tennessee's 1900 pharmacies and whether the state might need more than 5 inspectors.
"They'll address the resources issue," said Board Executive Director Andrew Holt.
The board is also sending surveys to pharmacies to get a better idea how many are doing high risk compounding like the type that created the Meningitis outbreak.
"This is an immediate action we can take inside of our current rules that we have to help us identify those pharmacies so we can further protect the health of Tennesseans," said Holt.
The Board was scheduled to also consider assessing civil penalties against the New England Compounding Center.
That action will have to wait until the Board's January meeting because the pharmacy intends to contest the penalties.
Wednesday, November 14 2012, 10:12 PM CST
The Vice President of Tennessee's Board of Pharmacy had to recuse himself from any votes that relate to the New England Compounding Center because his brother-in-law is a patient.
Health officials have said that pharmacy caused the outbreak with tainted medication that killed 13 people who received injections in Tennessee and sent dozens of others to the hospital.
"I would probably have a biased opinion," said Buddy Stephens. "He's making a little progress. It's kind of been a rough month."
The Board of Pharmacy met Thursday to discuss several actions it's now taking in response to the Meningitis Outbreak.
One of those options involves creating a task force to look at the regulations that govern Tennessee's 1900 pharmacies and whether the state might need more than 5 inspectors.
"They'll address the resources issue," said Board Executive Director Andrew Holt.
The board is also sending surveys to pharmacies to get a better idea how many are doing high risk compounding like the type that created the Meningitis outbreak.
"This is an immediate action we can take inside of our current rules that we have to help us identify those pharmacies so we can further protect the health of Tennesseans," said Holt.
The Board was scheduled to also consider assessing civil penalties against the New England Compounding Center.
That action will have to wait until the Board's January meeting because the pharmacy intends to contest the penalties.
Wednesday, November 14 2012, 10:12 PM CST
